RETF Custom Terrarium background - Advice and tips needed/welcomed

[DigitalPunk]

I'll post some pics and explain it in the PDF thread. I am posting the start of it now and will get more pics added tonight. We have been working on it for about a week, but are scraping what we have done. I originally planned to keep the new method a secret from my son and Wife till I started on mine, but today decided I wanted to share it with him so I could get some practice with it before I started mine. Keep your eyes peeled for the new build thread in a few minutes

why do you call it a Breeder?

[deranged chipmunk]

Cool! I'll be watching!

I have no idea why they call that size a breeder. There are a few that have that designation, 30b,40 b and a few others. I assume they call it that because it is the most common size for breeding fish? Easier to maximize space? Dunno.

[DigitalPunk]

Hmm interesting. Well hopefully it promotes Dart Breeding lol

[dbizal]

Could you guys recommend a LED strip? I know nothing about them and wouldn't know what to look for haha. Carrying this on via PM would be great as I don't want to flood this thread with my questions.

[Riptide]

the only difference between regular tanks and the "breeder" tanks is the depth of the tank. Breeders are ususally shorter but deeper front to back to allow for more surface area, whereas regular tanks tend to be shallower front to back but taller.

Other than that I have no idea why they are called breeders lol

[DigitalPunk]

Feel free to flood the thread. I feel the more information we can get into a thread maybe the more questions are answered for other people. I don't have any great insight on LEDs. I looked for some that were over 6500K (6500K is the minimum for plant growth). I found the Fluval brand when looking at lighting options on joshes frogs and then started searching abound for more information on them. I was at Petco buying a 40b for my next tank build and saw the lights on the shelf. I have no idea if they are the right ones for what I am doing, but they ticked all the boxes I knew I wanted. Day/Night mode, over 6500K. I also knew I wanted the light to penetrate the terrarium better than my traditional bulbs. This one has been great. I just wish I could put the Day/Night omn a timer. I am sure if I took the time to open it up I could isolate the wires that turn on the blue LEDs and fashion those to a timer, but who has the time for that lol.

[dbizal]

In that case I will carry on then :P

I am aiming at growing real plants so knowing that is great! It does look much more realistic than the standard bulbs, so for me it is certainly an option as I have bought nothing as of yet to do with the lighting (canopy, bulbs etc), so I think the initial expense wouldn't be too bad on the wallet haha :P

Would you be able to take a pic of the box of the light you use? Just so I know what to search for other than '6500k LED' lol. I am from the UK also so products will be different. Sorry if I am being a burden though, just I am the type to research everything before I dive in as I want my frogs to have the best possible living environment before I purchase them.

EDIT: Actually I just see it was the Fluval version. No need for a picture now >.<

[DigitalPunk]

Here is the link to the Petco Page for the Product. The box for mine is in the recycling already. Fluval Ultra Bright LED Aquarium Strip Light - LED Aquarium Light Fixture - petco.com

Others on here know more about lights and plants and what is best, I just gleaned enough from comments to know roughly what i was looking for.

[DigitalPunk]

Ok Bill the new thread is up and I am starting to try and explain the method I am going to test on my sons tank and then attempt to perfect in mine lol

[deranged chipmunk]

Yay!!

[Mentat]

Test on your son's tank... then build yours . Breeder tank's dimensions were designed to raise large number of fish fry hence the designator. Most common are 30B and 40B because they fit nicely in rack systems .

[deranged chipmunk]

I keep both of those sizes "in stock", or I'm my case, in storage lol

[dbizal]

Deciding to go with the LED route. I found some nice cheap LED floods of white produce the same amount of Colour Temperature as the Fluval one you bought (6000-6500k). They have different options of 10w ranging to 50w but for my Viv I would only need the smaller 10w version. Also I will be trying out a Blue LED strip for the moonlight, this way I can have them come on and off on different timers for a more consistent environment for my PDF when I get them.

This is the LED Flood I bought: 10W/20W LED Floodlights Classic PIR RGB Garden SMD Waterproof flood light Sensor | eBay

[DigitalPunk]

This tank is nearing the end. I am growing less and less happy with it the more I look at it. I have started a replacement tank for this one and then the cleaning and scrapping begins to get it ready for a future project.

[ticmike]

This tank is nearing the end. I am growing less and less happy with it the more I look at it. I have started a replacement tank for this one and then the cleaning and scrapping begins to get it ready for a future project.

WOW, Why are you unhappy with it, personally i think it looks fantastic and im pretty jealous right now

[ticmike]

Are your plants on the floor planted into ant sort of pot or just directly into the substrate (ABG)?

Looks awsome by the way

[DigitalPunk]

Are your plants on the floor planted into ant sort of pot or just directly into the substrate (ABG)?

Looks awsome by the way

They are panted straight into the soil.



I am unhappy with it from a design sort of way. The vine going across the top of the tank is blocking a lot of the misting water from making it to the back of the tank. We nearly lost the Pothos plants before we noticed it. The water bowl thing should of been water proofed on the inside. It slowly started to sag so I removed it from the tank before it fell while a frog was in it. Other than those 2 things the tank is fine. I just dislike the texture of the background and wish it were different.

It was my first attempt at a custom background and I think I did pretty good, but I want to love it lol.

[DigitalPunk]

Scraping silicone off 3 sides of a 24" tall tank is Z E R O fun.


That it all.